Frieze Art Fair returned to its long-standing home in Regent’s Park last week, bringing together over 280 leading galleries from across the globe. The fair is divided into two main sections: Frieze London, which focuses on contemporary art from the 2000s to today, and Frieze Masters, which presents artworks created before 2000 - offering a dialogue between historical and contemporary practices. Complementing both is the Frieze Sculpture Park, an open-air exhibition scattered across Regent’s Park that is free for the public to explore.
This year, I focused my visit on the contemporary presentations at Frieze London, and it did not disappoint. Despite the inevitable crowds, the overall quality of work felt notably stronger and more conceptually cohesive than in previous years, with galleries embracing bold statements, experimental materials, and emerging voices.
Below are my top three standout artists from this year’s fair - each bringing something fresh, thought-provoking, or visually unforgettable to the Frieze experience.
Poppy Jones
Poppy is a UK-based artist whose work explores the ephemeral nature of everyday objects and moments, blending photography, printmaking, and painting into a quietly poetic practice. What first caught my attention was the texture of her piece - it appeared to be printed on suede, something I’d never encountered before, and I couldn’t quite imagine how she achieved such a flawless, tactile finish.
Her still-life compositions often capture intimate, domestic scenes from her home in East Sussex, which she then transfers onto materials such as suede, silk, and leather. This unusual process blurs the line between image and object, giving her works a physical presence that feels both familiar and otherworldly - as if the memories they depict are softly fading, yet held in something lasting.
The Shining (2025)
Oil and watercolour on suede, soldered aluminium frame
Herbal Street Gallery
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/poppymjones?igsh=Z3dvc3Z4ZXZoNm1u
Erin O’Keefe
I was instantly drawn to Erin O’Keefe’s work because I couldn’t quite determine what medium I was looking at and was amazed to learn that they were, in fact, photographs. O’Keefe is a New York based photographer with a background in architecture, and the precision and meticulous planning evident in her compositions make perfect sense in that context.
Her process begins with the construction and painting of geometric objects, which she carefully arranges in her studio before photographing them. The resulting images play with light, depth, and colour to create striking optical illusions - flattening three-dimensional forms into bold, abstract compositions that challenge how we perceive space and structure.
Untitled (2025)
Pigment print on hahnemühle photo rag
Seventeen Gallery
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/erinokeefeart?igsh=MzNib3Bpb2dna2F4
Website - https://www.erinokeefe.com/
Brian Calvin
Brian Calvin is an American painter based in California, best known for his figurative abstractions and luminous, flattened compositions. Working in a distinct pictorial style, he paints elongated faces and fragmented forms that hover between realism and surrealism - their serene expressions offset by vivid, almost synthetic colour palettes.
I was drawn to Calvin’s work because of our shared interest in abstracted portraiture and the visual parallels between our practices - particularly his use of robotic, sculptural silhouettes and layered tonal contrasts. His paintings feel both emotionally distant and deeply introspective, capturing a sense of quiet observation that lingers long after you leave the booth.
Out West (2025)
Acrylic on canvas
Corri-Mora Gallery
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nowhereboogie?igsh=ZjZuYm95ajhmMW8y